


fyrir þína sakar lýsir allan heim

by treibholzdesuniversums



Category: Vikings (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Athelstan (Vikings) Lives, Athelstan is basically Baldur, Established Relationship, Fix-It, Fluff, Lots of it, M/M, Norse Mythology - Freeform, One Shot, Ragnar has abandonment issues lmao, Religious Discussion, This is why I wrote this, a teeny tiny bit of angst but not for long, canon can go fuck itself, rated t for references to sexual activities, some kisses
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-10
Updated: 2020-07-10
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:28:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,036
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25184818
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/treibholzdesuniversums/pseuds/treibholzdesuniversums
Summary: "Tell me a story."Ragnar opened an eye and turned his head ever so slightly towards Athelstan."Hmm?""Tell me a story", Athelstan repeated, lifting his hand from where it had been resting on Ragnar's shoulder to his cheek."What kind of story?", Ragnar mumbled, leaning into the touch."Any story."ᚨ*ᚨ*ᚨ*ᚨ*ᚨ*ᚨ*ᚨ*ᚨ*ᚨ*ᚨ*ᚨ*ᚨ*ᚨ*ᚨ*ᚨ*ᚨ*ᚨ*ᚨ*ᚨ*ᚨ*ᚨ*ᚨ*ᚨ*ᚨ*ᚨ*ᚨ*ᚨ*ᚨ*ᚨ*ᚨ*ᚨ*ᚨ*ᚨ*ᚨ*ᚨ*ᚨ*ᚨAthelstan survived Floki's attempt at murdering him. Ragnar tells him a story of his gods.
Relationships: Athelstan/Ragnar Lothbrok
Comments: 13
Kudos: 157





	fyrir þína sakar lýsir allan heim

**Author's Note:**

> Oof, so quarantine forced me to FINALLY write a fic of my own. I do nordic studies in uni, so I used the cool Old Norse names for the gods!  
> The title means "by thee light shines on all the world" :)
> 
> Some explanations:  
> Áss/Æsir: You can divide Norse gods into two groups: the Æsir and Vanir. Thor, Odin, Baldr are Æsir, but gods like Njörd, Freyr and Freyja are Vanir. Æsir are often associated with war and the Vanir with fertility.
> 
> Jötunn/Jötnar: Giants
> 
> (Old) Icelandic letters can be confusing, so here's an explanation:  
> Þ= the th sound from Thursday (literally “Thor’s day” lmao)  
> ð= the th sound from then  
> ö= say o, then leave your lips that way and try to say ugh  
> æ= like English i  
> ó= like English oh, the “usual” o isn’t pronounced like a diphthong, more like French eau or German “ohne”( if interested, use google translate ig)  
> á= the ow sound from how  
> I hope I got all of them, if not, tell me and I'll add them :)
> 
> I also like to think that in this au, Aslaug fucked off with Harbard, she and Ragnar are just bad for eachother, lol
> 
> The povs are also kind of messed up, but you only get Ragnar's pov in the beginning, then it's all Athelstan
> 
> I made a [playlist](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0QKYXFN2ML8GA8IXqi8xZw?si=F3Xkn_4lS_KvMTYYYvxEAg), that I listened to while writing this, feel free to check it out!

_Ek sá Baldri | bloðgom tívur,  
Óðins barni | ørlög fólgin:  
Stóð um vaxinn | villum hæri  
mjór ok mjök| fagr mistilteinn_

"Tell me a story."

Ragnar opened an eye and turned his head ever so slightly towards Athelstan.

"Hmm?"

"Tell me a story", Athelstan repeated, lifting his hand from where it had been resting on Ragnar's shoulder to his cheek. Lazily, he started grazing his fingertips over the skin, finding tiny droplets of sweat, left there by their recent strenuous activities.

"What kind of story?", Ragnar mumbled, leaning into the touch.

"Any story."

Ragnar made a pensive noise, a low, rumbling sound and opened his other eye to take in the man beside him. Athelstan looked at him through half-lidded, yet expectant eyes. His hair had escaped its usual braid and was spread around his head, like the halos of the saints whose pictures Ragnar had seen in Christian books. The likes of which Athelstan had painted before being taken across the sea to Kattegatt all those years ago.  
The fire had died down a while ago, but the embers still filled the bedchamber with a dim, warm light. It reflected of Athelstan's skin, since he too was covered in a thin layer of perspiration, but to Ragnar it seemed like the light had sunk into him, danced beneath his skin and made him shine from the inside. But maybe that soft glow was merely the sleepy smile lighting up his features. Still, he couldn’t resist either way and pressed his lips to Athelstan's hand.

"Do you know the story of Baldr?"

A small line appeared between Athelstan's eyebrows. "He's Óðinn's and Frigga's son, isn't he? I don't know much more, I’m afraid."

"Yes, he was. The only one they had together. He was the fairest and most beautiful of the gods, beloved by the entirety of creation, even the jötnar."

Athelstan frowned. "Was?"

Ragnar turned his face towards the ceiling again, Athelstan's hand falling to the furs next to him. "It's not a happy story I fear", he began, "for the worst fates come to pass to those of us who are the most virtuous."

A vision of Gyda, pale and faded flashed before Athelstan's eyes and he couldn't help but wonder if Ragnar was thinking of her as well. "Tell me anyways", he demanded. 

"He was not unlike your God, Jesus. He was just and merciful. As wise as his father but without his faults. He was so fair that he always radiated. He was lord of a place called Breiðablik, where no one, who was in any way impure could enter. He had a wife, Nanna, and a son who they called Forseti. He offered the best of councils, but none of the other gods ever listened to him, as much as they loved him.” He paused and used the arm that he had previously stretched out over his head to pull Athelstan closer and carefully bedded his head onto his shoulder. His eyes were still clouded with a post-coital haze as he turned them to Athelstan again, who felt a warmth spreading inside his chest that he had come to associate with the man beside him ever since he had come to these lands.

“And what about his fate?”, Athelstan asked.

“He started to have troubling dreams about his life being in danger. He confided in the other Æsir. Óðinn rode down to Hel and raised a seer, a völva, from the dead, to ask her about his son's dreams and if they had any truth to them. And the völva confirmed all of their worst fears, said that there was already a place in Hel prepared for Baldr. Óðinn then asked who his murderer would be and the völva told him that the blind Höðr, Baldrs half-brother would kill him. And Óðinn asked again who would take revenge for this terrible deed. The völva named Váli, an Áss that was yet to be born. He is the son of Óðinn and Rind and would fight and kill Höðr when he’s only one night old.  
Óðinn rode back to Ásgarðr and told the other gods of what he had learned. And they tried to trick fate. Frigga made every single thing in creation swear an oath that they would never harm Baldr. Every god, every human, every animal, every plant, every poison, the earth, the water, even the smallest of pebbles gave the promise. No hurt was to come to the most beloved of the gods.”

Ragnar's voice was quiet, barely more than a whisper, a low mumbling that made the distinct consonants of his mother tongue sound all the more enthralling. Athelstan was well aware of the fact that Norsemen never wrote any of their stories or laws down, so contrary to the people of his own homeland. But how could they? The language seemed to have been created for telling tales of old gods and great heroes. Their words were meant to be heard and listened to, not read in a book. And storytellers, law spokesmen and skáld were thus very esteemed members of this strange society. And it made sense to Athelstan. Who else would preserve their history and culture if not for them? 

Ragnar continued. “But the trickster god Loki was jealous of Baldr. Jealous of the love that everything in existence had for him. He turned into servant girl and asked Frigga if there were any things that were exempt from the oath. And Frigga told him about a mistletoe that she deemed too young to be of danger to anyone. So when the gods gathered to test Baldrs new invulnerability, when they threw rocks and weapons at him, Loki sneaked to the west of Ásgarðr where the mistletoe grew. He ripped it off and forged a spear from it. At the gathering he approached Höðr and asked him why he didn’t join the others.  
Höðr answered: 'Well, I can’t see, and I don’t have a weapon either.’ So Loki offered him to guide him and gave him the spear. And with Loki’s help Höðr threw the mistletoe at Baldr. It pierced him and Baldr dropped dead immediately. The gods were petrified with grief and Loki managed to slip away. And Váli was conceived and born, and after just one night, he was fully grown and slew Höðr. One of Óðinn's other sons, Hermóðr rode to Hel again, begging for Baldr to be allowed to return to the world of the living. He rode nine days and nine nights.  
While Hermóðr was away, the other gods and creatures of all kinds held a funeral for Baldr. They assembled at the sea where they carried Baldrs corpse onto his ship, Hringhorni, the biggest ship of all. They brought his horse unto the ship as well, fully saddled. And Þórr used his hammer to bless the pyre.”

Ragnar stopped and used his unoccupied arm to pull Athelstan even closer to him, his face thoughtful. He tucked one of Athelstan’s errand strands of hair behind his ear and began stroking his nape. Athelstan let out an appreciative hum and closed his eyes. He opened them again and the tiniest of frown appeared on his face.

“What of his family? His wife, his son?”, he asked.

Ragnar let out a small sigh. “I don’t know about his son. But Nanna was so overcome by grief for her husband that she died of a broken heart.” The stroking stopped and Athelstan was startled by the dark expression on Ragnar's face. “She was also carried onto the ship and burned with it. And Hermóðr arrived in Hel and tried to bargain for his brother’s life. But Hel denied him unless every living and dead thing weeped for Baldr. And thus, when Hermóðr returned to Ásgarðr, every living and dead thing was instructed to shed tears for the best and brightest creature to ever exist. And everyone obeyed. Except for an old giantess named Þökk, who lived in a hidden cave. She refused to shed a single tear, for she was actually Loki in disguise. So Baldr stayed dead, remaining in Hel with his brother Höðr until Ragnarök.”

Ragnar had let his hand wander upwards and now carded his fingers tenderly through Athelstan’s dense hair. Athelstan searched out his gaze and found an unexpected vulnerability and sorrow thrown back at him. _Oh Ragnar_ , he thought, _I’m not going to leave you, not in this world or the next._ He proceeded to roll himself on top of Ragnar and put his hands on both sides of his face. Ragnar’s eyes fell to the nasty scar on his chest, from when Floki failed to kill him.  
“I’m here am I not?” he said. And he pressed his lips to Ragnar’s, who then captured his bottom lip between his own with urgency. An appreciative noise escaped Athelstan’s throat and Ragnar tightened the grip in his hair in retaliation. They let the kiss grew deeper and when Ragnar opened his mouth and let Athelstan’s tongue slip in, Athelstan was tempted to lose himself in it when his entire body lit up in response and almost forgot about one last question. Almost. He broke the kiss, reluctantly so. Ragnar made a soft grunt of protest but didn’t resist his withdrawal.

“What happened to Loki?”

Two blue eyes looked up at him, glazed over and disorientated.

“Huh?”

“Did the gods manage to capture him?”

Ragnar cleared his throat and his eyes regained their focus.

“Yes, Þórr managed to catch him when he tried to escape in the form of a salmon. They killed Loki’s son Narfi and used his entrails to bind Loki to a spiked stone in a cave. A horrendous snake hangs above him and lets acidic poison drop on his face. His wife Sigyn tries to catch most of the poison with a basin before it hits his boody, but every now and then she must empty it. And the poison would burn Lokis face and his writhing shakes the earth. This is where earthquakes come from. And he will stay there until Ragnarök.” A sour smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “He and Heimdallr will kill one another and when the world is reborn, Baldr will return from Hel with Höðr.”

“He doesn’t stay dead then?”

Ragnar smile. “No, much like your Jesus. But most of his family will never see him again.”

Athelstan frowned. “I suppose. But Jesus was able to meet his disciples again before his ascension to heaven.”

Ragnar made a thoughtful noise. “Our gods do have some things in common. And other things not. But what does it matter in the end?” His face darkened again. “We’re all bound by fate, my gods, your God, every man, every animal, the very ground we’re walking on. We can’t escape it.”

Athelstan shook his head and looked at Ragnar insistently. “No. Your gods might say that everything that will happen in your life is already decided, but my God allows me to choose my own destiny. And I advise you to do the same.”

Ragnar grimaced. “It’s difficult to free oneself of a life’s worth of conditioned thinking.” He sighed. “But I’m eager to learn and I have finest teacher in all of Miðgarðr to help me.” He freed his hand of Athelstan’s hair and enlaced his fingers with the ones tracing the tattoos on the side of his head.

Athelstan laughed. “I suppose you do.” He paused. “And he’ll be glad to assist you,” he whispered. Ragnar’s eyes flickered in response and he placed a kiss on the scar on the back of Athelstan’s hand.  
Athelstan caressed Ragnar’s hand with his thumb, a common gesture between them nowadays, and forward, to touch his forehead to Ragnar’s. Both closed their eyes. Athelstan felt nothing except for their bodies touching, the warmth of the fire and Ragnar's body. Their shared breaths. The feel of their intertwined hands. All of his thoughts became centered around the man beneath him again and when their lips met he thought: _It’s a good thing that there are a lot of people in Kattegatt who will be willing to cover for their king in the morning._

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading this mess! A lot of love and wine went into making it. 
> 
> I am in constant need of validation, so pleeeeaaase leave a kudo and a comment...
> 
> You can also also find me on [tumblr](https://blumpfinchen.tumblr.com/) :)
> 
> Special shoutout to my friend [kahootqueen69](https://kahootqueen69.tumblr.com/) who inspired me to write this, check out her work, she wrote some really cool fics about The Terror and her art is supercute :)


End file.
